A native species in imminent danger of extirpation or extinction in New York (includes any species listed as federally Endangered by the United States). It is illegal to take, import, transport, possess, or sell an animal listed as Endangered, or its parts, without a permit from NYSDEC. 1) Any native species in imminent danger of extirpation or extinction in New York. 2) Any species listed as endangered by the United States Department of the Interior.

Federal Protection:Endangered

Listed as Endangered in the United States by the US Department of Interior.

State Rarity Rank:S1

A State Rarity Rank of S1 means: Typically 5 or fewer occurrences, very few remaining individuals, acres, or miles of stream, or some factor of its biology makes it especially vulnerable in New York State.

Global Rarity Rank:G5T2

A Global Rarity Rank of G5T2 means: Imperiled globally - The subspecies/variety is at high risk of extinction due to rarity or other factors; typically 20 or fewer populations or locations in the world, very few individuals, very restricted range, few remaining acres (or miles of stream), and/or steep declines. (The species as a whole is common globally.)

Did you know?
This species would not persist without active management in New York. The Albany Pine Bush Preserve manages for this butterfly through prescribed fire and by planting and encouraging growth of wild blue lupine.

Even though there are about 50 subpopulations occupied each year, these cluster into about four metapopulations, or recovery units. Of the 50 subpopulations, the vast majority have fewer than 100 butterflies present. This species does not persist well if the total July brood for the metapopulation is fewer than 1,000 adults. This Federally and State-listed species is completely management dependent in New York, and is the case in most or all of the remaining portion of the range.

There are over 10,000 individuals in July during at least some years at Saratoga Airport but only three other sites are believed to contain one or two thousand individuals in the summer brood most years, which is marginal for a viable population of this species. The majority of sites contain fewer than 100 adults. However, it should be noted that the estimates not based on mark-recapture (see Gall 1985) are very unlikely to be close to the actual population size. Since the Federal Listing, this species has apparently been fairly stable in New York, but some small subpopulations have declined or increased slightly. At some sites, the current population sizes are not known.

The Albany area population has declined by over 90% from what it apparently was in the 1970s and the population was probably even higher originally. The Tonawanda, Brooklyn, and Sullivan County populations are extinct, as are the Rome and Watertown populations, if they really existed. The Warren County populations are now small remnant colonies. The decline has probably been less at Saratoga.